Hey guys, this is my first draft of a letter I’m going to send to the Commissioner of the NFL about the recent Ben Roethlisberger sexual assault case.
Open Letter to Roger Goodell
Dear Mr. Goodell,
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should be suspended at least for one season, if not indefinitely, and you know it. The idea that there will be men who are nearly 30 horning after your twin girls one day must make you sick to your stomach. Your bottom line, however, depends on people like Ben Roethlisberger playing football, so a conflict of interest exists. When a Caucasian star male athlete is accused of rape, his governing organization can mete out a token punishment and then turn towards the time tested trope of fixing a young man’s penchant for “bad judgements.” What Ben Roethlisberger, and probably scores of other athletes, did was not a “judgement.” It was a calculated attempt to score some young pussy. When a man at a bar says to all present “I like to fuck girls,” later approaches one of them with his penis exposed, and then has non-consensual sex with her, he is not judging anything. He is acting in gross contempt for the psyche and the very humanity of a young woman.
You’ve done very good things for the NFL’s code of player conduct. Unfortunately, every single big-name suspension you’ve served has been to a player of African-American descent. When a sports fan sees a picture of a black face under a headline about conduct suspension, it isn’t much of a surprise. Men with names like Santonio and Donte’ are harshly suspended, and their careers are immediately in flux, but men with names like Benjamin T. Roethlisberger are debated about. The hope is that Mr. Roethlisberger can return to the game as soon as possible and lead the Steelers to another successful season. In a country with tens of millions of people who annex the very idea of morality, and claim to do things like “Focus on the Family,” the hope should be that this cretin is never on TV again. Analysts on your NFL Network have said that more games than four would be “overly punitive,” but acted as if it was routine when black players have gotten suspended for far more games.
This does not exist in the same realm as a substance-abuse case, or a performance-enhancing drugs suspension, or even a firearms possession case. Unfortunately, possessing firearms and the sale or use of drugs have become a badge or signifier for a certain subset of black celebrities. We don’t blink when a black rapper or athlete is in trouble for possessing a handgun. When a white athlete rapes a girl and she mysteriously decides not to press charges, thousands move to defend or at least deflect criticism from the man in question. According to a commenter on the NFL.com website, “1,000s of girls a week” are victim to crimes like this. Is sexual assault becoming a signifier for young white athletic men? Men in general?
This is an issue which you can help fix, and you’ll be doing an immeasurable service to women of your daughters’ generation. Ben Roethlisberger, in a public statement, said that he wants to be a “role model for kids.” How you can help him do that is to punish him significantly and make sure he apologizes for his actions. His public statement was an example of contempt for the public and disregard for his status as a role model. He needs to come out fervently against sexual assault, preferably heading or participating in an NFL-sanctioned Men Against Sexual Assault program. Unfortunately we heterosexual males are the ones who need to do the heaviest lifting to end rape, because we perpetrate it in the large majority of cases.
Let me repeat again: this man said to a group of people “I like to fuck girls.”
At its most innocent, this statement is an expression of a basic human urge. At its most sinister, it is a man with too much status and power testing the waters to see if he’ll be able to get away with rape. So far, he has. Please take appropriate action and don’t let this man’s race and his status as franchise quarterback get in the way of a fair judgement.
Thank you,
Nicholas James deVaron Lerangis
